Planhacker: The Cheapest Ways To Get FIFA World Cup On Your Phone

The match times for World Cup fixtures this year are a little less punishing for Aussie fans then they were four years ago, but if you're like me, you'll still probably watch some of the earlier games on your phone from the cosy comfort of bed.

Which means you'll probably need an Optus Sports subscription to tune in. Many current Optus customers will already have this subscription bundled in with a postpaid phone or home broadband plan. Even if you never bothered unboxing the Fetch TV set top box Optus sends to new internet customers, you will still be able to log in on your phone.

If you don't currently have an Optus plan, and you're in the market for something new, here are some of the cheapest ways to get what you need to access to those late night World Cup streams.

Note: Our interactive tables may take a few seconds to load - we thank you for your patience.

Optus SIM Only Plans

Optus has no contract and 12-month contract SIM Only plans, and Optus Sport is available with both. But it will cost an extra $5 per month if you choose a no contract option, so you need to factor that into the total monthly cost. That and the fact that the no-contract plans aren't very good value in and of themselves.

So technically the cheapest plan you can get a World Cup pass is the $35 per month 12 month plan. Though 3GB data per month isn't much these days, so the best value is probably the $45 option with 15GB. You get slightly better data-per-dollar if you step up to the more expensive plans, but the $45 plan seems like the sweet spot.

Optus Broadband

If you're happy with your phone plan, but looking for NBN, then any of these NBN plans can get you access to Optus Sport and the World Cup, but only half of them have it bundled in. Otherwise, like the mobile plans, it costs an extra $5 per month.

The cheapest option is the $75 Ultra plan plus the $5 extra. You get Standard Plus (NBN 50) speeds and unlimited data, a modem, plus the option to go month-to-month if you're OK with a $200 setup fee. On a two-year contract Optus will hook you up for free.

The $5 extra per month also gets you a Fetch TV Mini streaming box which I think is much better than the big, bulky Fecth TV Mighty box. I don't remember the last time I needed a TV tuner or the ability to record hours of TV commercials interspersed by dull commercial TV shows. There, I said it.

Finally, the alternative to an Optus phone or internet plan is just to pay Optus $15 per month and get Optus Sport on its own.

If you don’t intend on watching every single match, SBS has the rights to air (and stream) 25 of the 64 games, including all the Socceroo matches, one game every day and the all of the finals. Optus and SBS have partnered on a dedicated World Cup app where you can watch the free games, or enter your Optus Sports subscription details and unlock everything else.

They don't call it the 'World Game' for nothing. Alongside the Summer Olympics, the FIFA World Cup is the biggest sporting event on the planet. Over four weeks, the best 32 teams in the world will compete in 64 games to determine a winner. Here's everything you need to know about watching the 2018 World Cup in Australia.

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